Sochi Hockey Team Confirmed by KHL

The Kontinental Hockey League says it will add a team based in Sochi for next season, a boost to legacy plans for the 2014 Olympic host city.

The club will likely play in either the Bolshoy Ice Dome or Shayba Arena, the two hockey venues located in the Olympic Park, making it the first sports team to be based in an arena used at the Sochi Olympics.

The KHL is widely considered to be the strongest hockey competition outside the NHL. While most of the teams are based in Russia, the league also includes teams in several former communist countries.

Besides Sochi, the KHL also says it will add Finnish team Jokerit and Lada Tolyatti, a club in central Russia, to bring the league to 31 teams in nine countries.